March 1 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rose more than 1% on Wednesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and China's strong economic data, while investors look forward to a federal weekly export sales data.
* The cotton contract for May CTc2 rose 1.02 cents, or about 1.2%, to 85.05 cents per lb at 11:39 a.m. EST (1631 GMT). It touched a two-week high of 85.5 cents a pound, earlier in the session.
* "Dollar is a little weaker and the China manufacturing data came out better than expected, showing that people are going back to work and getting down to business," said Jim Nunn, owner of Tennessee-based cotton brokerage Nunn Cotton.
* "If cotton prices can get back above 86-87 cents, we may make a run back toward 89 cents again," he said.
* The dollar index =USD slipped 0.7% against its rivals, making cotton less expensive for overseas buyers. USD/
* China's manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than a decade in February, official data showed, as the country's easing COVID-19 restrictions lifted consumer sentiment.
* China is one of the top consumers of U.S. cotton.
* Focus now shifts to the U.S. Agriculture Department's weekly export sales data due for release at 8:30 a.m. EST on Thursday that could offer more cues on demand for the natural fiber.
* Last week, the report showed net sales of 425,300 running bales of cotton for 2022/2023, a marketing-year high, up 97% from the prior four-week average. EXP/COT
* Elsewhere, U.S. soybean, corn and wheat futures were up after hitting their lowest since September 2021. GRA/
Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar